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for·ti·fi·ca·tion defensive wall or other reinforcement built to strengthen a place against attack:"the building and maintenance of fortifications"
for·ti·fi·ca·tion defensive wall or other reinforcement built to strengthen a place against attack:"the building and maintenance of fortifications"
This morning we are going to be thinking about the art of war with a focus to one aspect of war, and that is the ideas of fortification, or what might otherwise be known as a stronghold.
THE SACK OF SYRACUSE
In 214 BC during the time known as the the second Punic War between Rome and Carthage, there was a city of Sicily named Syracuse. It was a Roman province and after King Hiero of Saracuse died his Grandson resumed power. The new king fell to the influence of an anti Roman faction and despite the Romans assasinatin the new king and ridding the Pro Carthaginian leaders, Syracuse prepared for War against Rome.
One of the things Syracuse was known for was their significant fortifications , they had great walls that protected the seaport city from attack.
Well one of the Syracuse defenders was a mathmatician and scientist named Archimedes. And the Roman legions attempted to besiege the city but because of its fortified walls, the spirit of the SAyracuseans, and the war inventions of Archimedes the Romans Failed. Now thi si going to blow your mind!
The reason the Roman Legions had difficulty besieging this seaport city was not only because of its high walls but two inventions of Archimedes,
Now you are familiar with Archimedes, this man was a mathematical genius. He was the one responsible for calculating pi, and complex calculus proofs 2000 years before calculus was invented
1. His first war machine that he invented to deter the Roamans was dubbed later as the death ray, not Kidding. Archimedes fashioned a series of giant mirrors that reflected the harnessed power of the suns rays. They would aim the death ray at the sails of the Roman ships as far as a thousand feet away and burned them to the bottom of the sea.
One of Archimedes famous quotes is, “Give me lever long enough and a place to stand and Ill move the world.
2. The other invention was called the Claw of Archimedes, which he designed a Giant iron Crane that was operated by every inhabitant of Syracuse and it had a claw on it that would scoop down and grab the ships. Hoist the entire ship into the air and drop it to the sea below destroying ship and crew.
The stronghold of Syracuse worked so effectively that it took a year for them to overtake the city, and the only way that happened is the Syracuseans got over cofident and had a great festival and some of the Roman soldiers snuck intoo the city and opened the gates
We are thinking about fortifications and strongholds today. Because rather you want to believe it or not you have not been born into May berry, you were born into a raging full out spiritual battle. Today the enemy has people bound up, twisted around and completely blind. He and his army of demons have been invading hearts and minds and has worked hard at building has massive strongholds built up in the hearts of millions.
THE STRONGHOLD OF THE SAINT TURNED SINNER
THE IRREGULAR Saint Turned Sinner
THE REGULAR SINNING SINNER
AND FINALLY UNREGULATED SUPERNATURAL SAINT
First I want to talk to you about the Saint Turned Sinner. I know that seems backwards but you will get what I am saying. The Sinner who is a Sinner. And the Sinner turned saint, all with Fortification, strongholds and Fortresses in Mind
There are many places in scripture where the body of a man, woman boy or girl is described as a place of residence, a house where there is an occupant. For instance the Bible describes your body as the Temple of God. In Ephesians 4 Paul reminds believers to not give any place to the devil.
27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
The word that he uses for place is literally like a room that can be rented. What Paul is saying is don’t rent any rooms of your body to the devil because he will squat in that place, make camp in that unclean part of your soul and start a campaign of destruction in your life. Now Paul is not speaking of the lost, HHe is speaking of the saved. And is saying listen don't let the devil find any filthy place in your life because He will spread out from there and destroy.
I have seen it time after time in churches where someone begins to walk with Christ, they are happy, they are healthy, they have renewed vision and a reclaimed purpose. But something happens and before you know it that person becomes poisonous. And they begin to poison every one around them. What happened? Well they gave place to the devil. They allowed some silly sin to turn inot a stronghold. They then turn from being just simply saved by grace to defiled, they then become decieved and their righteousness go from the Lords rightewouness to self righteous. To enjoying freedom in Christ to then seeing everything as sinful and wrong, and because
15 To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.
And what is happening? Well there is the reason why the gospels call demons unclean spirits. And what happens when a believer becomes defiled and they open a doorway of demonic actiivity through unclean living they invite unclean spirits in that enter the Temple and they begin to take control of that persons mind and distorts and twists everything.
And as a pastor I hate it when that happens to one in my flock because they begin to cause problems, Blinded by their self righteousness they set out on a crusade and begin to cause problems in the body.
And deceived people who become defiled through sinning, begin to see everything as unclean. And at the helm of their mind is not the Holy Spirit but an unclean Spirit who masscarading as a righteous spirit with noble intentions and they began to poision everything aroudn them, with double talk, with evil suspensions, with silent slander, and they become sowers of the seeds of discord.
Do you want to know how church hurt happens, it happens when Saints revert back to sinners, thye open and area of their life back up to demon of hell and they become a wrecking ball in God’s love feast
This may be a reminder to someone in here this morning, but I want to remind you that the body of Christ is to act differently that the world does.
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call—
But when Christians become poisonous. When the Saint becomes sinner, I want you to know that is abnormal, that is an irregularity they will not operate in humility but in pride, but they will call it humility, they are compelled by truth, they will not act in gentleness, they become rough. And instead of bearing with one another in love, they become self righteousness, vengeful crusaders.
What is happening when this occurs? well a stronghold has been formed.
There is demonic infiltration and they have overthrown any soundness in that persons mind and now there is chaos. Where there used to be peace, there's only unrest,
where there was love now there is hatred masked by self righteousness
NOw that is the Saint Turned Sinner
NOW LETS LOOK AT THE Regular Sinning Sinner. And the Strongholds that Satan uses to Keep them bound up
Today Satan is firing his death rays at the sails of hopes and dreams, and he is reaching into the sea of humanity and his Claws of death and plunging entire households in the bottom of hell. Learn this about the devil he doesn’t tire
I heard the story about a woman that never had anything negative to say about anybody or anything and somebody asked her one day. Well what can you say about the devil. And she thought about it for a second and she said, Well he tends his business
Now lets talk about the all out and out sinner. The one that needs saving. Now if you get the idea that seeing people saved is easy and safe you have another thing coming. The devil is stingy, He will not release his people without aaaaaa fight. So lets look at the Stronghold of the Sinning sinner.
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
First is the deadness of the sinner
The first obstacle in dealing with sinners, and I am simply using that to refer to people that have never surrenerd to the Lord Jesus Christ. They are dead. Dead to what? Well dead to righteousness, dead to holiness. All they know is what they have expeprineced down here on earth, they have never experience the pwoers from above.
Dead in Tresspasses and sin- that is offenses agaisnt God and living in that moral filth is all that they know. And the spiritual cancer of sin has completely infected their minds and hearts that they can noo more see God than a Blind man can see a Rainbow
The Detainment of the the Sinner
2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—
Remember that I told you that our body is a Temple a place that can be resided in. Not only are they dead spiritualyy, but they are also detained spiritually. I have seen so many people with demons that not only is this demon manifesting itself often, but they are unaware of it. And the devil likes that. He likes it when he can go unoticed.
Notice that he is decribed as the Prince of the Power of the air!!
Now I probably don’t understand everything that Paul means by the title Prince of the Power of the Air. But the word air here means the air right above the earth. Can I tell you that if you let him the devil will control the atmosphere around you. Every time I go to serve on Quest out in the country with Men of God the atmosphere is free, but can I tell you that everytime we got back into the City of Dallas, my spiritual barometer could notice the change in the air.
And one obstacle the sinner has is they were born into the realm of the devil. All theuy have ever knonw is the spirtual pressure by the prince of Darkness, ad that is why everything seems so normal.
And the entire life of the sinner has been formed and molded by the devil. Rather its through chaso and disfunction, or through comfort and worldly sophistication the Devil has detained sinners.
\Building up massive citadels of lies, and sophistication and phiolosophies that keep men and women lost in their sin.
We have talked about the Unregular sinner turned Saint. We have talked aboiut the Regular Sinning Sinner, now lets turn our attention to the Unregulated Supernatural Saint
The UNREGULATED SUPERNATURAL SAINT
You think my ghosh if this is the case how can anybody be saved… Oh what is impossible with man is made possible with God
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
IF YOU are like sir Mix a lot and You like Big Buts, here is the biggest but of All..... BUT GOD
Being rich in Mercy , because of his Great love in which he loved us, made us alive together with Christ. He died your death, so you could live His Life. Get that down deep inot your heart today. He died your death so you could live His life...... And not only that, not only has he made you alive, your like you know that cool, man Im alive and all… Oh no he keeps going .. He raised us up with him and seeated us with him in the heavely places....
There is somewhere in here for the high places that Israel refused
NOW LETS TALK ABOUT YOUR AUTHORITY IN CHRIST. Today we have a mabsy pansy weak Christianity where we think we will just win the world to Christ through our love. Its true we need more love, but listen God has not called you to some humanitarian club. Oh no He has given you stronghold demolishes. He has given you some spiritual super weapons to use against the Syracuse type strongholds of Satan
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
I’m going to pull down strongholds—strongholds of doubt, strongholds of ignorance, strongholds of apostasy, strongholds of lusts.” He said, “I’m going to pull them down, because the devil has built these strongholds in people’s minds. And inside are imps and the demons of Hell.” Paul says, “First of all, I’m going to make a breach in the wall. I’m going to pull down the wall. And then,” he says, “when I go in, I’m going to knock down that tower—every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. There, where Satan has been hurling out his artillery over the walls—there, where Satan has been hurling out his artillery over the walls,” Paul said, “I’m going to demolish that thing—these thoughts, these philosophies, these lies.” He said, “I’m going to tear that down. And then,” he says, “I’m going to carry out captives. I’m going to take every thought and make it obedient to the Lord Jesus Christ—people’s habits, people’s fears, people’s doubts, people’s heartaches, people’s bitterness—minds that have been corrupted and blinded.” And Paul says, “I am going to set them free. I am going to war—I am going to war.”Now had you been looking there, you’d have said, “Paul, you can’t win.” I mean, think what he was up against. You know, Paul wasn’t much to look at. When you think of the Apostle Paul, what do you think of? Do you think of somebody who was handsome? When you, if you were to hear Paul preach, do you think you would hear someone who was suave and eloquent? No. Skip down to verse 10—here was the problem in Corinth: “For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful;”—you know, Paul wrote some pretty powerful epistles—“but, his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible” (2 Corinthians 10:10).
I mean, if you were on a pulpit committee, you probably wouldn’t want Paul. Paul—he’d been beaten, and scarred, and, you know, pickled in the Mediterranean. He had the lictor’s lash on his back. He’d been stoned and left for dead. And they said he had bad eyesight, and he probably was a little ole’ humpback—little ole’ scholar, you know. He’s walking in there—bandy-leg little fellow, been all over the world. And when he would speak, he was not like Apollos. And he didn’t look like Adonis. He was just, you know, he was not much of a fellow.
And so we’re gong to have a fight. And in this corner, a little runt, Paul; and, in this corner, we have the entrenched, systematized, evil of intellectual Corinth. And behind Corinth, we have the Roman empire, 700-years-old; and we have the iron legends of Rome; and we have the natives of Rome; and we have the laws of Rome; and we have the Senate of Rome; and we have the Caesar of Rome; and we have the ways of Rome; we have the culture of Rome; we have the language of Rome. And here they are: There’s Paul—and here is the heavyweight. Who’s going to win? Paul—Paul. How is he going to win? Not with flesh. Paul has a secret weapon. And the Roman Empire went down for the count of ten and hasn’t gotten up yet.
Why—why? The Apostle Paul says, “I am going to war, but,” he says, “the weapon of my warfare is not carnal” (2 Corinthians 10:4). You say, “You don’t look like much, Paul.” He says, “That’s right.” “Paul, you’re not good speaker.” “But,” he said, “I’m not depending on that. I am going to war, and I am going to use mighty weapons in my warfare.”
Now the same weapons that were available to the Apostle Paul are the weapons that are available to you, today. And so what are they? We find them right here, in this 10th chapter. There are four weapons—four mighty weapons, not carnal weapons. But they are weapons that are available to every mother’s child in this building today for the fight that we all must fight.
THE HIGH PLACES
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
